Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development

Embracing Ireland's Outdoors - National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027: Discussion

2:00 am

Mr. Fintan O'Brien:

We have had those county outdoor recreation officer roles for just over a year at this stage. That is why we will be doing a mid-term review. The rural recreation officers were mentioned. One of the reasons we did a pilot was that we wanted to make sure we were not duplicating our funding. Mr. Mulherin might have more detail about this, but my recollection of the roles is that the rural recreation officers work in the LDCs and focus on engaging with local farmers on the walk scheme, with local communities on the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme applications, community involvement and such things. I understand the county outdoor recreation officer role is linked to the plans. It is more about strategic coherence and bringing it all together. It may be less about being on the ground every day talking to stakeholders who are dealing with maintenance or access issues and a more strategic role. I hope that sums it up.

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